THE PRESIDENT of the Arts and Letters Student Council (ABSC) said the council was doing everything to regain the trust of the students after the loss of P50,000 in funds last October.
“Gagawin namin ang lahat ng aming makakaya para maibalik ang tiwala ninyo, pero kung hindi ninyo po susubukan na magtiwala ulit, walang kuwenta ‘yung pagsubok namin na ibalik ulit ‘yung tiwala,” ABSC President Marie Jann Lazo said in a dialogue titled “Speak Up: Face-to-Face with the Student Council and the Administration” held last Feb. 10.
Lazo added that the officers were willing to shell out money to replace the missing funds.
ABSC Vice President for Internal Affairs Jan Dominic Castro said the council would also accept any disciplinary action.
“The council is willing to accept sanctions to be provided, if and only if the SWDB finds any of the officers or any of its board committee [members] guilty,” Castro said.
Last Nov. 22, ABSC reported that about P50,000 cash, which was supposed to be used for activities like the Athena Cup, NGO fair, and the general staff assembly, was stolen from the student council’s office on Oct. 23.
Students inside the office when the alleged theft occurred were Lazo, Treasurer Julienne Avila, Chief of Staff Emmanuel Arre, and board committee members Patricia Umali, Jancis Valera and Richard Umali.
ABSC and the Students’ Welfare Development Board (SWDB) are still investigating the alleged theft and have yet to conduct a hearing.
Artlets Assistant Dean Narcisa Tabirara said the hearing was delayed due to the papal visit last January.
“We will try to hold it next week. Don’t think that we are not doing anything. As soon as the matter came to our attention we also consulted legal personalities,” she said.
Tabirara added that the missing funds should not be the sole basis for evaluating the performance of the ABSC.
“The matter of the loss funds continues to haunt us [but] I really think it should not deter us from moving on with our activities,” she said. Arianne F. Merez
